Center Faculty Director Gary Marchant gave a presentation on Genetic Modification Labeling Laws to the North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s 2017 Biotech Roundtable: Gene Editing in Ag Biotech held in Research Triangle Park, N.C. on October 24, 2017.
In his talk, Marchant reviewed the historic arguments for and against mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. He summarized provision of the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, which was adopted by Congress in 2016 and requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to finalize a national standard for disclosure of bioengineered foods by July 2018.
Several key issues that the USDA is currently considering include: whether new techniques such as gene editing and RNA interference should be included; whether highly refined foods that contain no modified DNA or proteins should be included; and the threshold content triggering disclosure.
The website for the Biotech Roundtable can be found here, where presentation materials from the meeting will be posted soon.